My Message to Parents about Social Media

This week I sat on a panel for parents about Social Media hosted by Michael Thompson. With me on the panel were two alums from the class of '05 and '10 (The '05 graduate is also on the faculty) and a current senior. The two youngest alums were also in my Digital Journalism class. 


We each opened with a few remarks. When I am in this position with parents I try to spin Social Media in as positive a light as possible. So many of these panels feature police officers that use scare tactics that I try to give the glass half full perspective. Here is what I talked about.

Digital Legacy

• What goes online stays online.... forever. Even if you think it is private it really isn't. Anyone can take a screenshot of anything you write or post and share it with anyone. There is no digital privacy and we should all behave with that assumption at the back of our mind. It should make us "better people."
• Take control of it, don’t let it control you. You have the ability to take control of your digital persona. The more you put online yourself, the more you drown out anything you might not want to be seen. Buy your own domain name, start a blog, get on Twitter and use all of these tools to create your best public self possible. This post, 5 Reasons why your Online Presence will Replace your Resume in 10 Years is an excellent example of how and why to do this.

Networking has benefits and drawbacks

• Behavior changes according to context. Kids need to learn proper online etiquette for a variety of situations. This is a message we should be teaching kids at home and at school. You need to know your audience. There are things you can say with friends that you would never say in school. Students need to always keep this in mind, while also realizing that nothing is private online (see above).
• Networks built young have great potential. Kids are building connections now that can serve them well into their professional lives.
• Fail young. I believe it general it is helpful to let kids to "fail" in middle school when the stakes are lower. When you first get involved with a social network it can be addicting and wreak havoc on your time management. Usually this addiction passes after some time. It is better to get through those early heady days when the negative impact on your academics is less important.

Behavior is behavior

• Parenting is parenting. Don't be afraid to parent when it comes to technology. Take the phone away, turn off the internet, keep the computer in a public room, limit time online. Trust your instincts.
• Addiction is addiction. If you are concerned about your child's over-use of technology, address it before it gets out of control, just as you would any other addictive behavior.
• Behavior is behavior. Kids know how to behave. They need to understand that their online behavior should follow the same rules as their offline behavior. The impact of bad behavior Online can have much greater repercussions!

There was more said, but this is the general message I tried to communicate.

What would you add or take away?


Image Source: A glass half full by sarah and mike ...probably

Two For Tuesday 4/14/09

1. The 100 Most Iconic Internet Videos
Thanks to Alec Couros for sharing this one! Not only does this website list what they consider to be the top 100 Internet videos of all time, they also give you the history behind each clip. "These are the clips that are etched into our memories, made us laugh, influenced the future of internet video, or changed it altogether."

2. FamDing - A Private Social Network for your Family
FamDing allows you to create a private social network just for your family. You can share messages, photos and important dates. You can keep track of birthdays and create a centralized address book. You can even hold a 4 person video conference.

Advice for Teachers New To Twitter

Each day several new people start following me on Twitter. As I click through each profile, I make a decision whether or not to follow these people back. I generally follow all teachers back and will sometimes follow others depending upon what they do and the kinds of things they share on Twitter. As I was going through new followers on Saturday night, it occurred to me to Tweet some basic suggestions for teachers new to Twitter.  The first 3 are really essential to building your network of followers.

1. Go to settings and fill out your Bio! This is essential to getting followers.
   
2. Tweet a few things - share a link, an idea, a resource, a blog post, anything.
   
3. Don't protect your updates. People often hesitate to follow back if they can't see your tweets.
   
4. Use your real name and your real picture. You will eventually have to say "Hi I'm "xx" on Twitter."
   
5. Look for people who will follow you back - that is what makes a conversation.
   
6. Check out this spreadsheet of educators on Twitter add yourself: http://bit.ly/xfUn
   
7. If you Tweet a question and no one answers, Tweet it again later. It is OK to ask more than once.

I also asked others to share their suggestions. Check them out below.

• nycrican2: More advice for new teachers on Twitter, become familiar with the vocabulary on this site: http://twictionary.pbwiki.com/
  
• JPerino: A friend who set me up on Twitter suggested using http://search.twitter.com/ to find others by topic...like EduCon 2.1
  
• prodev: My best advice and I wish I'd discovered it sooner is http://TweetTree.com!
  
• nycrican2:  How about the advice that new teachers on Twitter should click on their replies and direct messages links frequently.
  
• adewitt2: Use it as a prof. development tool. Use it for getting info. from others.It's like the mgc 8 ball.
  
• raventech:  I try to DM once it gets to be more personal/give & take. I @reply for general convo and definitely for thanks for RT's
  
• ScottElias When u ask for advice & someone obliges, common courtesy dictates that u thank them. How that looks (@ or D) is up to u.
  
• mwacker: join the twitter freaks group on diigo..there's some tremendous resources there
  
• cfanch: My advice for connecting with students is NO to Twitter, Facebook, Myspace. Just my two cents on that.
  
• ScottElias: Stick with it a while. There is a learning curve until you reach that "critical mass" where your feed starts to get interesting.
  
• MagistraM: Ask questions, give answers, share challenges AND successes. Don't just lurk, but join in.

Do you have advice for teachers new to Twitter? Do you have questions? Please share them here.

Image Credit:  Alan Levine, SPLJ 2.0: http://cogdogblog.com/2007/04/26/splj-20/

8 Stages of PLN (Personal Learning Network) Development

I've been thinking about my recent learning journey and how my relationship to my personal learning network has changed and developed. One year ago I attended the Educon 2.0 conference. Having just returned from Educon 2.1, I am struck by the the difference in the experience. It was just as meaningful, powerful and thought provoking as it was the first time. But my relationship to the people there had a different and deeper quality. Linda Nitsche's session, Reflections on Personal Paths of Change particularly helped me to look back on my journey and to think about the ways it has grown and changed.

It occurred to me that I might be able to connect the stages of my development to other psychological theories. Here is my attempt to do that. I apologize to Erik Erikson (and to all who have studied his work), for my very broad interpretation of his Stages of Social - Emotional Develoment in Children and Adolescents.

The path I describe below is very linear. I know I have and will circle back and forth through some of these stages. I wonder, is what I have described a common experience? Can you relate to my progression? What similarities do you see to your own experiences? What differences? I hope you will share them with me.

1. Learning Basic Trust Versus Basic Mistrust (Can I trust the world?)
When I first started venturing into social networking, through Classroom 2.0 and blogging, I wasn't sure how much I should reveal about myself. As I started to meet people online, I was afraid to trust in those relationships. I wasn't sure if they were real or not. But I chose to hope that they were real and took some risks and put my trust into a group of people that I did not really know.

2. Learning Autonomy Versus Shame (Is it OK to be me?)
Once I took my first few steps into building a network, I had to test my autonomy and put aside my fear of being embarrassed or ashamed of what I had to contribute. This is a frightening stage. It required venturing away from the people I already knew in my personal life and reaching out to widen my learning circle. At times it felt lonely out there. I might write something and receive no response. I took the chance of revealing my weaknesses and asking for help. I was able to build my own voice in the blogosphere and found myself supported in my opinions.

3. Learning Initiative Versus Guilt (Is it OK for me to do, move act?)
Once I had established a group of people online who I felt I could trust, I started to push those boundaries. At times I would take on issues that might be less popular. I became comfortable enough in my network to play or joke around, to add a silly comment here or there and to reveal more of my true self among people I don't "really" know.

4. Industry Versus Inferiority (Can I make it in the world?)
As I became comfortable with my network, and more and more impressed with the people and their contributions, I began to feel more responsibility for my own contribution to our collective intelligence. I took more time writing my posts. I become more aware of the impact of my tweets, comments and the discussions I started in various networks. I also began to feel a desire to succeed and excel. To build a readership and a "following" that would respect what I had to say.

5. Learning Identity Versus Identity Diffusion (Who am I? What can I be?)
In this stage I really began to question my role in my PLN. I wanted people to know me, to recognize me. I wanted to be part of the "cool" crowd. I became very aware of the structure of power within my network and explored my own place in that hierarchy. Some of my relationships became deeper and more intimate, while others revealed themselves to be more superficial. At times I felt rejected or ignored and at other times I felt empowered and affirmed.

6. Learning Intimacy Versus Isolation (Can I Love?)
I feel I am now in moving towards the end of this stage. My relationships with the people I have met online have deepened. In Philly this weekend, I felt I already had a strong core of people who cared for both my ideas and for me as a person. I feel the same way about them, I know many of the people I learn from both as educators and as people with families and personal successes and disappointments.

7. Learning Generativity Versus Self-Absorption (Can I make my life count?)
I feel myself moving into this stage. As my network has become established, I am trying to keep open to new relationships. It is easy to feel content with the wonderful people I have already met and stay safely within their circle. That complacency is challenging to overcome. As I become more "known," I don't want to seem unapproachable or above anyone else. As I move into a different place on this developmental spectrum, I feel more of a responsibility to help others in my network who are at earlier stages, work their way through to their own deepening connections.

8. Integrity Versus Despair (Can I contribute?)
Finally, I am still striving to get to this "peak of adjustment." I hope to reach a stage where I can feel comfortable with my own success and my place among my peers. To let go of some of my own striving and to focus more on helping others. I admire and look to the others in my network who have found this equilibrium.

Please share your thoughts.
-Liz


Photo: My notes from Linda's session.

Growing a More Diverse Learning Network.

I read lots of blogs, I read blogs on Web 2.0, I read mommy blogs, I read triathalon blogs , and I read blogs about my favorite TV shows. My Twitter and Plurk networks include people outside the world of education. The more diverse your learning network, the more likely you are to stumble upon something that everyone else hasn't seen already. I recently blogged about 10 ways to Grow Your Learning Network. Today I found this excellent post by Chris Brogan on how to Reach Outside Your Fishbowl to Build Community. Chris himself is outside of my fishbowl and I have learned a lot from him. I particularly like number 2 and 3 on his list:

1. Go to Delicious and search for topics that are just outside your blog’s main subject, or that are at perhaps tangential. Do the same thing as step 1.

2. Write posts about an industry vertical using your blog’s perspective instead of just writing about your main focus. If you’re writing a running blog, write a post like “Top 5 Runner-Friendly Companies in Seattle” or if you’re a food videoblogger, shoot an episode called “Election Day Dinners.” In these cases, make sure you’re using tagging and that you’ve claimed your blog in a search site like Technorati.

How diverse is your network? Do you follow only educators? How do you find people to learn from? Please let us know.

Image Source: Namaqualand Wild Flower Carpet. http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_heigan/2137729737/

Making Things Happen - Tapping In to the Power of the Network

Thanks so much to Bob Sprankle who recorded my ACTEM session and just posted it as a Podcast on his Blog.

A Spreadsheet of Educators on Twitter

(If you don't know what Twitter is, please check out this post: Getting started with Twitter)

I have seen several lists of educators on Twitter, like this one and recently I discovered this wiki which organizes us by subject area. It inspired me to create a list that could be sorted across different criteria like country, state, subject or grade level. In an attempt to create a more malleable list I made a Google form for educators to fill out. I then made the corresponding spreadsheet public, so that anyone can sort it. If you haven't already, please complete the form and add yourself to the list.

I took the data that we have collected so far and used Many Eyes to create a treemap of the results. If you click on the image below you can see the results so far.

Say Hello If You Know Me

I had a wonderful time at the ACTEM Conference in Maine this week. I got to see many of my Maine Tweeps, including Alice Barr, Bob Sprankle, Cheryl Oakes, Michael Richards, Mike Arsenault, Sarah Sutter, and Maria Knee (who is actually from New Hampshire) face to face. I met Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach in person for the first time. I also attended Geek of the Week and learned about a lot of new tools including the Big Huge Labs which I used to make this badge.

I love this badge idea. When I go to conferences I want to see the people I know online in real life, but often they don't recognize me and I don't recognize them. Wouldn't it be fun if we all created badges with our avatars and/or profile photos so that people can connect our online identities with our real life selves. I have seen people do this with their second life avatars, and I think it is a great idea. Look for me and my new badge at the Christa McAuliffe conference in New Hampshire, the MassCUE conference in Massachusetts and the Educon 2.1 conference in Pennsylvania. Please don't be shy, say hello if you recognize me. I was so excited to add Page Lennig, Sharon Betts and Cathy Wolinsky to my face to face network this week.

Sheryl's keynote was wonderful. I have never seen her in person and she has such a great energy and puts things so well. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"Social and intellectual capital are the new economic values in the world economy."
"We need to go from mandated accountability to mutual accountability."
"What are you doing to prepare your students to be Googled?"
"Don't change your teaching - change the way you learn. Become a networked learner, so you can own it and give it away."

I went up and said hello and she actually knew who I was. That was really cool.

My own sessions (I did the same one twice) titled, "Making Things Happen, Tapping in to the Power of the Network," were attended by just a few people, but they seemed to go well. I tried to engage people in some goal setting exercises and then show them how to use a personal learning network to help them achieve their goals. I included some visualizations, some writing and some talking. It really wasn't about the technology, but more about the network. I always feel that we need more structured ways to meet each other face to face at these conferences. I tried to do that in my session. I'll be doing it again in New Hampshire. Here is a link to my slideshow from the conference.

Overall I had a wonderful time. Thanks to everyone for being so gracious and so welcoming!

Ten Tips for Growing Your Learning Network

1. Start big and small. People with smaller networks are more likely to interact with you. Do a Technorati blog search on a topic you are interested. Look for blogs that have authority below 50, these tend to be people newer to the blogosphere who are more likely to interact with their readers.

2. Check people's blogrolls, find some one you like and then check their blog roll and so on and so on.

3. Go to Alltop.com and look at the education feeds. Again, don't limit yourself to people in education.

4. Join Twitter or Plurk and look at followers and fans, check out the bios of the people you follow and take a look at their blogs and Websites. If you are new to Twitter and/or Plurk be sure to add a bio before you start following people.

5. Check out the education related groups on Ning. Try Classroom 2.o, Library 2.0, Ning in Education, and Global Education. Check out the Members page. Look at individual pages for people who share your interests.

6. Attend some conferences, be brave and say hello to people. Introduce yourself to presenters after the session, look at the conference Website and check out the attendee's page. Attend K12 Online and follow the links to the presenters blogs and Twitter pages.

7. Use your social bookmarking network. When you find a link you like, tag it and look at the other people who have tagged that link, then check out their bios, add them to your network.

8. Set up an aggregator. I use Google Reader to keep my network in one place. I subscribe to blogs, bookmarks, news, podcasts, and Twitter.

9. Listen Live to EdTechTalk shows and participate in the backchannel chat.

10. Participate, don't just lurk, you have to give to get. Don't be afraid to share your ideas, comments and links. We are all both leaders and followers. Let your voice be heard.

Thanks to Lisa Thumann for inspiring this post!

Image Source: Power Law of Participation From the Flickr photo stream of Ross Mayfield.